Record-cleaning attachment for phonographs.



Pafenfed Oct. 24, 1916.

L. E. RENNELL.

RECORD CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB 15. 1915.

a .m w a g WI TIT/E8858:

RECORD-CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR BHONOGBAPHS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Uct. 2a, iaie.

Application filed February 15, 1916. Serial No. 78,487.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LORENCE ELLSWORTH RENNELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Record-Cleaning Attachments for Phonographs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cleaning means for removing particles of dust from the sound groove of a phonographic record and it consists in the constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts herein described and claimed.

The principal object of my invention i to provide a cleaning brush of soft material the brush being arranged in a position in advance of the sound reproducing needle, so as to clear the sound groove of any particles of dust and thereby render the reproduction of the sounds more perfect as well as to obviate grinding of the surface of the groove.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cleaning brush such as described which may readily be attached to the needle chuck of any phonograph and in which provision is made to keep the brushing surface in constant contact with the uneven surface of the sound groove of the phonographic record.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, my invention being illustrated in the accompanying draw-.

ing forming a part of this application in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the sound box of a phonograph illustrating my invention as applied to the needle chuck, Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the device showing the needle chuck and the sound box in dotted lines, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the attachment, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the cleaning brush pm" 86.

In the drawing, 1 is the sound box of a phonograph which in this particular instance, is of the disk recordtype, the needle chuck 2. whichforms av part of the sound 'box 1, being provided with a suitable clamp screw 3 by which the reproducing needle 4 is clamped into position as shown.

The needle t engages the. sound groove of the disk record 5 in the [well-known manner. the record 5 being rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. In order to remove particles of dust which may have lodged in the sound groove and collected there, I provide a brush 6 which will preferably be composed of camels-hair bristles, and which is arranged to engage the sound groove in advance of the needle 4, to clean the groove and render the reproduced sounds more clear.

ternally threaded at the top and is thereby screwed into the correspondingly threaded base 13 of the bracket 14 as shown in Fig. 2.

The brush holder 12 is provided with a bore 15 of a diameter sufficiently great to admit the head 8 andpermit it to move easily therein, the bore 15 being of a diminished diameter as at 16 to permit passage of the brush shank9. The bore 16 is counter-sunk as at 17 so as -to provide a seat for a similarly formed flange 18 of the shank 9. The flange 18 normally rests in the seat 17 forming a flush top surface and performing the principal function of limiting the downward thrust of the brush shank 9. The brush 6 is kept in contact with the surface ofthe sound groove, by the tension spring 11, which rests at its upper end on a shoulder 19 formed at the junction of the bores lo and 16; the spring in pressing against the shoulder 10 thus keeps the brush on the surface of the record and the spring being very light will easily yield when the brush encounters any protuberance of unusual dimensions.

The bracket 14 consists of a strip of metal which possesses a degree of resiliency, but when doubled on itself as shown in Fig. 3, is rigid enough to fulfil the requirements of a bracket.

The bracket 14:. as previously stated, com-- tightly clamped to the chuck 2 by a clamp screw 21 which passes through ears 22 which extend from the portions 20 and are continuations of the arms of the bracket 14 as clearly shown in F igs. 2 and 3.

In operation the clamp screw-21 is removed and the members of the bracket 14- -are spread far enough apart to permit the portions of the collar 20 to be fitted on the needle chuck 2 of'the sound box 1. The clamp screw 21 is then replaced and after having adjusted the brush 6 so as to give it a light bearing on the surfaceof the record 5, the screw 21 is tightened and the device is in position for subsequent use. As previously stated, the tension spring 11 will preserve the contact of the brush with the sound groove of the record 5. The location of the brush 6 in advance. of the reproducing needle 4:, serves to dislodge all particles of dustwhich may have collected in the sound groove, and thus renders the sound reproduction clearer as well as to obviate grinding of the wax surface of'the. groove which does occur, if only to a minute degree where the dust is allowed to remain.

While I have shown only one form of my invention it is obvious that minor variations may be made, such as replacing the collar 20 by a hinge joint and placing the clamp screw 21 through the arms of the bracket 14,

one of these arms in such an embodiment being cut to permit the functions of the hinge joint, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of theclaims.

I claim 1. In .a phonographic record cleaning device, the combination withthe needle chuck;

of a bracket adjustably secured to the chuck,

abrush associated with the bracket and arranged to engage the surface of the sound groove, and a tension device for causing the brush to follow the undulations of'the sound groove.

2. In a phonographic record cleaning device, the combination with the needle chuck; of a bracket adjustably secured to the chuck, a hollow holder arranged on the bracket, 2. brush mounted in the hollow holder and arranged to'engage the surface of the sound groove, ,and a tension spring disposed within the hollow holder brush.

3. In a phonographic record cleaning device, the combination with the needle chuck, ofa bracket adjustably secured to thechuek the bracket including an internally thread ed base, a holder 'having an internally threaded surface for engaging the threads of the base the holderhaving bores of two diameters, a brush associated with the holder and, including a shank to engage the and associated with the bore of lesser diameter and a head to en-.

Gopieu of this patent may be obtained for five centseach. by addressing the Washington, D. 0.

gage the bore of greater diameter, a tension spring located in the latter bore and coacting with the brush head, and means for limiting the outward thrust of the brush.

4. In a phonographic record cleaning device, a bracket having an internally threaded base, a holder mounted in the threaded base the holder having a countersunk bore at the top and a counter bore at the bottom terminating in a shoulder at the juncture of the bores, a shank having a flange located in the upper bore the flange being adapted .to engage the counter sink, a recessed head formed on the lower end of the shank the diameter of the head bein equal to that of the counter bore a shoulder being formed at the juncture of the head and shank, brush bristles, located in the recess of the head, and a tension spring disposed on the shank engaging the shoulder of the head and the shoulder of the counter-bore.

5. In a phonographic record cleaning device,'the combination with the needle chuck; of a horizontally disposed base, a bracket extending from the base at an obtuse angle, a clamping means located at the endof the bracket arranged to be secured to the needle chuck, a vertically disposed hollow holder pendent from the base, a shank having a recessed head located in the hollow holder, a spring for thrusting the shank outwardly, a flange for limiting the said outward thrust, and a cleaning brush located in the recess of the shank for engaging a record sound groove to remove dust in advance of the needle.

6. A phonographic record cleaning device, a bracket consisting of a strip of resilient metal bent into a circular shape to form a base said base being internally threaded, parallel arms extending from the base at an obtuse angle, each of the arms having a semi-circular enlargement 'arranged oppositely to form a collar, ears disposed on each enlargement forming a continuation of the shank arms the ears having threaded apertures to receive a clamp screw, 1 1 0 a holder having an externally threaded end mounted in the base the holder having a counter-sunk bore, at the top and a counterbore at the bottom, a shoulder being-formed at the juncture of the bores, a brush shank LORENGE ELLSWORTII RENNELL.

Commissioner of Patents, 

